harrington



3 Sheets-Sheet 1. R. A. HARRINGTON.

INOLINED RAILWAY AND WATER TOBOGGANING APPARATUS.

(No Model.)

Patented June .19, 1888.

amvmioz 3 sheets sheet 2- (No Model.)

, R. A. HARRINGTON.

INOLINED'RAI-LWAY AND WATER TOBOGGANING APPARATUS.

No 384,843. PatentedJune 19, '1888.

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"m L Qmwh u PETERS, Phmmmn nur. Walhiruglon, 0.0

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

R. A. HARRINGTON.

INOLINED RAILWAY AND WATER TOBOGGANING APPARATUS. No. 384,843. PatentedJune 19, 1888.

N. PETERS. Phulouthognpher, Withinglon. D. C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RANDALL A. HARRINGTON, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND.

INCLINED RAIL WAY AND WATER-TOBOGGANING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 384,843, dated June 19,1888.

Application filed January 24, 1388. Serial No. 261.809. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RANDALL A. HARRING- TON, of Providence, in thecounty of Providence and State ofRhode Island, haveinvented certain newand useful Improvements in Inclined Railway and \Vater-TobogganingApparatus; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear,and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, and to theletters of reference marked thereon, which form apart 'of this specification.

The subject of this invention is the construction ofa wheeltobogganslide or inclined railway so combined with a lake or other body of waterthat the momentum acquired by the car in its run down the railway shallserve to carry it a considerable distance on the surface of the water;also, the mode of constructinga wheel toboggan or car to run on theinclined railway and also to float on the surface of the water in whichthe railway terminates.

-It further includes the mode and means for returning the car to thestarting-place at the top of the railway after the trip has been made.

In the drawings, Figure 1 shows a plan view of an inclined railway andcar, also of a part of the lake L. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinalsection of the railway and car, taken through near the middle of thestructure. Fig. 3 shows a plan view of the railway with two tracks wherethe empty cars are returned on a side track,and an independent motivepower. Fig. 4 is a vertical longitudinal section taken through themiddle of the return-track, Fig. 3. Fig. 5 shows a verticalcross-section of the railway structure on the line was in Fig. 1. Fig.6shows a side elevation of the car alone. Fig. 7 is an enlarged View ofthe devices for securing the cable to the car and for casting it offwhen required. Fig. 8 shows the arrangement of the two pawls Z 12 andthe lever k. y

The inclined railway structure consists of two lines of timbers, B 13,each line being sup ported by a row of posts, 8 s. The rails upon which"the wheels a a of the car run are laid on the beams B B near their inneredges. Crossties S are placed a little lower down and securely fastenedto the postss 8. Upon these ties two lighter lines ofjoists, c c, arefastened at alittle distance apart and parallel to the rail-beams Babove. The structure may be otherwise braced, according to its size, butsufficiently to make it firm.

The car shown in Fig. 6 is made in many respects like a boat, havinghigher sides than a toboggan, and is water-tight throughout. The

front or bows are also made high to prevent the water from coining inover that end when the car strikes in the water. It can be madeornamental by carrying the bows up in the appropriate form of the headand neck ofa swan.

The car has two wheels, or a, on each side, so placed that their topscome about even with 6 the upper edges of the car. These wheels may beheld on two shafts or axles passing through thecar from side to side;but I prefer to put them on studs fastened firmly tothe sides of thecar, so as to avoid the inconven- 7o ience of having the axles crossingthe car in- 1 side.

The bottom of the car is made in the shape i of a boat, having a keel,b, that lies between the two center strips, 0 c, which assist in guidingthe car and preventing the wheels from leaving the track-rails. Arudder, r, is also attached in the usual position and provided with atiller inside the car,that its course may be controlled after leavingthe railway.

To return the empty car to the top of the railway after it has made atrip, a cable, 0, and a horizontal drum, R, around which the cable iswound, are placed at the top of the railway. The drum R hasjournals initsends 8 which are supported in bearings made in the frame-work. Onepart of this drum R is made smaller than the part that receives thecable, and on this smaller portion, f, a rope, j, is

.wound, to which a weight,w, is attached. By 0 this arrangement theloaded carin going down the railway draws off the cable from the drumand winds up the rope j and weight w on the small part of the drum, sothat it will be in readiness to draw the empty car up again after a triphas been made by the weight w unwinding the ropej from the drum andwind: ing the cable up. A ratchet-wheel, n, is made fast on one end ofthe drum R, and two pawls,

Z10, are pivoted to the frame and provided [00 with an upright lever, k,for the purpose of throwing either one of the pawls out of theratchet-wheel when the car is started. The cable 0 has a ring, z,secured to its end to attach it to the car. A short shaft, 0, is held inbearings in two projecting arms on the rear end of the car, and a hook,t, is fastened to this shaft between its bearings. The curve of theouter part of the hook t is made nearly in a circle, the center of whichis the center of the shaft 0. This form of the hook is to facilitate thedrawing of it out of the cable-ring while there is a strain upon it. Atthe same time the cable has no tendency to draw the ring off, as it ispulling directly from the cen ter of the shaft; but when the car isabout to enter the water at the lower end of the railway the handle 12,attached to the outer end of the shaft 0, strikes against the stud 6,made fast in the frame, (see Fig. 1,) and turns the hook up out of thering. A forked bar, 3 is attached to one of the arms that hold the shaft0, and in this fork the cable-ring lies while the hook is in it, thelower arm of the fork preventing the ring from falling off, and the up;per arm keeps the ring from rising when the hook is turned up out of itin casting off.

The lower end of the railway should have the curve of an invertedcycloid, so as to approach more and more to a line level with thesurface of the water, that the car may glide into it without too muchdisturbance.

Supposing the car to be at the top of the railway, held there by thecable-ring on the hook z.,a nd the cableO wound up on the drum R, whichis held by the pawl 19 in the ratchet wheel 'n,with the weight to at thelowest position. Then,the passengers having taken their seats in thecar, the pawlp is thrown out of the ratchet-wheel by means of theupright lever k, and the drum is free to turn and allow the car to rundown the railway, unwinding the cable from the drum and winding up therope j with the Weight to. When the car comes to the lower end of therailway, the handle '0,Fig. 2, strikes against the stud e and throws thehook tout of the cable-ring, leaving the car free to glide off on thewater.

The keel of the car may be made in a curve or the rudder set so that thecar will make a detour of the lake and return to the foot of the railwayby the momentum received in descending. The weight w, raised by thedescent of the loaded car, is held in that position by the pawl Z untilthe ringz is put on the hook t,when by a reverse motion of the uprightlever k the pawl Z is thrown out of the ratchet-wheel n, and the drum isfree to be turned back by the weight w, which, by winding up the cable 0on the drum R,will draw the car, after having been relieved of its load,up to the top of the railway,where it will be held by the pawl Z,whichdrops on the wheel when the other pawl, p, is thrown out.

In Fig. 3 and at I show the mode of returning the empty cars on a sidetrack independently of the descending car by using an endless cableoperated by such motive power as may be found convenient, as horsepower,steam-engine, due. In this plan the endless cable 0 is carried aroundagrooved pulley, R, secured to a shaft held in hearings in the frame.this shaft,and is driven bya large gear-wheel, to, fast on the upper endof the upright shaft H. A horizontal draft-bar,s,is inserted in theshaft H, to which a horse can be attached to operate the cable; or asteam or other engine can be used by making the usual connections.

The empty car is attached to the cable in any convenient way, and whenit arrives at the top of the track is disconnected from the cable andswitched onto the descending track. This plan has the advantage of notimposing the work of drawing up the empty car on the descending ear, andgreater speed can be attained with less elevation.

Having thus described my improvements, whatI claim as my invention is 1.The combination of a descending railwaytrack and another track furnishedwith a cable for drawing up the empty cars, a motive power to operatesaid cable, and a body of water,substant-ially as set forth,and for thepurpose specified.

2. The combination, with an inclined railway-track terminating in a bodyof water,and a car fitted to go from one to the other, of the drum R,cable 0, rope j, weight w, ratchetwheel 12, and pawls Z 1), with lever75, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The shaft 0, hook t, forked bar 3 arm 1;, and stud e, in combinationwith the cable 0, ring 2, and carA,substantially as described, and forthe purpose set forth.

RANDALL A. HARRINGTON.

W'itn esses:

FRANK MossBEnG, BENJ. ARNOLD.

A pinion-gear, n, is fast on the end of a

